Some might call Christine Cegelis's chances against incumbent Rep. Henry Hyde for the 6th Congressional District seat a long shot; however, they'd be wrong. The persevering Cegelis—who has the support of Howard Dean—is in a position to topple the long-serving Republican. Her views reflect what she says a lot of her district residents want: change.
Windy City Times talked with Cegelis about everything from homeland security to GLBT issues. Earlier in the day she debated Hyde; for someone who had just been through a sparring match, she was pretty upbeat.
Windy City Times: How did the debate go?
Christine Cegelis: It went well. We discussed the issues and cleared the air about some things.
WCT: Most people would be intimidated running against Congressman Hyde. What makes you so intrepid?
CC: It's simple: Things need to change. I'm concerned that the country is headed in the wrong direction. Hyde does not seem to take the people into consideration.
WCT: What is your biggest advantage?
CC: [Part of it] is my tenacity. Also, I think the people want change.
WCT: What's the most pressing issue for you and the people in your district?
CC: It has to be the economy. In this district we've seen a lot of our jobs being outsourced because there were a lot of IT (information technology) positions here. There's a lot of economic insecurity because of the losses of job, which correlates with a loss of health coverage.
WCT: Where do you stand on GLBT issues?
CC: I'm definitely against a constitutional ban on gay marriage. Also, I'm against any sort of sexual orientation discrimination whatsoever.
WCT: Keep this answer limited to 30 minutes: What's wrong with the No Child Left Behind Act?
CC: [Laughs] Well, in order to keep my answer under 30 minutes, I'll say that it's just not effective. Not only does it punish students in schools that don't perform well, but [the lack of] funding is a big problem. If schools don't do well, they get no funding—and they need it the most.
WCT: Regarding homeland security, do you see a problem with using colors to represent different risk levels?
CC: I don't see a problem with using colors; it's that they're used so often it's like Chicken Little. When they use it, they need to provide accurate information. Also, I don't believe that the threat level may be high for the entire country. It may be high for New York or Chicago, but when you say it's high for the whole country you're putting a level of anxiety there that's not necessary. In the end, it's going to be ignored.
WCT: What's the hardest part about running?
CC: Raising the money. It's very difficult to raise enough money to put together a good campaign if you're not connected with a donor network. It's hard to establish that work—especially when you're running against someone with a lot of name recognition. If more people knew of me ahead of time, I'm sure they would've invested in [my campaign].
WCT: Any concluding thoughts besides 'Vote for me?'
CC: [Laughs] I do think we need change in this country. That's why I'm running and why I've put my job off for the last year. We're at a crossroads—and if we do not make some major changes right now, this is not going to be the country that most of us recognize. It has to be the most important election in my lifetime.
www.cegelisforcongress.com
